


Pocket-Sized

by Ailec_12



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, BAMF Pepper Potts, Bullying, Friendship, Gen, Kid Steve Rogers, Kid Tony Stark, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Steve Rogers Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-11
Updated: 2019-06-17
Packaged: 2020-04-24 19:51:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19180246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ailec_12/pseuds/Ailec_12
Summary: Vaguely set post-The Avengers (2012). Tony and Steve may not be best friends as adults (shh, they are getting there), but as children they would totally hate each other... right?





	1. Skinny Steve

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written and posted on FF in 2015. It will be updated pretty quickly as I go over the chapters to check everything is all right. It was beta-ed by alygator86 on that site, too.

He wished Bucky was there and he hated himself for it. He had got himself into that mess —once again— and so, he would get out of it on his own.

Another well-aimed kick impacted on his arms, which protected his bony torso. There were only two kids this time. Steve knew one of them had an uncle discharged from the army and it seemed like he had taught his nephew some moves, but it did not really matter. He was too skinny anyway, too _weak_ to beat anyone up. He hated himself for that, too.

The beating seemed to last for hours. On this occasion, there was no Bucky to end it. The children just got bored eventually and left. Steve knew that his friend was playing somewhere a little far from there. Bucky had actually made friends with a new group. When he had invited Steve to go with them, the scrawny child had refused. He was still a bit under the weather from a cold the previous week and his mother would not let him go outside the neighbourhood. Besides, he always made a mess of meeting new people. He knew Bucky did not mind —not much, at least. He often said there would never be a person more important to him than Steve, because they were brothers in every way that counted. Yet, he wanted Bucky to have other friends, too. And maybe, when they knew and loved Bucky —and loving him was inevitable once you met him—, they would not mind either if Steve messed things up.

Finally, he summoned his strength to get off the ground. Despite aching badly, it looked like he was still in one piece, so it was probably fine. He started to walk home, already making up some flimsy excuse in his mind that would explain the scratches and fresh bruises. He did not enjoy upsetting his mother, but it was impossible for him not to stand up to bullies —or try to, at least.

As he walked home, the ten-year-old remembered the trigger of that particular fight. One of the kids, whose name he had already forgotten, had insulted Bucky for being an orphan. And Steve had launched himself at him without a second thought or a plan —even though his asthma hardly let him breathe most days. Of course, he stood no chance against the two bigger boys and he was aware of it. In addition, it was unlikely that they would have dared say that to Bucky’s face, so his best friend would probably have remained oblivious to the insult. And yet, Steve did not doubt for a second that defending his friend was the right thing to do. They would always have each other’s back, until the end of the line.


	2. Tiny Tony

“Guys,” he said and, although there was certain cockiness in his voice, the words came out slightly shaky, too, “this is starting to get old, don’t y—?”

One of the boys shoved him against the lockers with so much force that, for a moment, it left Tony breathless. None of this was really new. The older boys would corner him and ask for something. They usually wanted his homework; sometimes, they made Tony buy them lunch. However, at times like this, it was that big mouth of his what had got him in trouble.

He could not even recall what he had done this time. Oh, right. He was showing off his math skills again. He remembered saying something about how many donkeys the high school accepted those days —a very mild comment, if you asked him. He almost smiled at the memory, but then the leader grabbed him by the lapels, almost choking him, and every thought vanished from his head.

“Shut your mouth, buffoon. It’s clear you don’t learn. Is your brain as small as you that can’t learn what ain’t in the books?”

A chorus of laughs followed and Tony felt how his eyes stung with undesired tears. He hated that part of himself: being so sentimental, so weak. His father was right. He could never be Captain America. He could never be a hero, even though he was a genius. But what good came from being smarter than everyone? There he was, surrounded by incompetent fools, yes, but stronger than him. Bigger than him.

“Well,” he spat venomously, because he was truly incapable of keeping his mouth shut, “maybe I really need another lesson, but you’re gonna need a lot more, ‘cause sure as hell I’m not gonna help you with your homework anymore.”

The other boy, almost five years older than him, only laughed. Tony felt his blood run cold.

“Oh, such a big mouth for such a tiny kid. Yeah, I think you really need a lesson. And everyone knows what the best place for learning manners is. C’mon!” he shouted to the other three boys, dragging the younger child towards the restrooms.

Hours later, he was sitting in the backseat of the car with fresh bruises in his arms and a very bad mood. The bruises were hidden under his sweater, but the scowl would not leave his face. He knew Jarvis sensed that something was wrong. Although the butler said nothing during the ride, he did try to stop Tony when the child got out of the car and ran to the mansion.

Jarvis found Tony in his room, sitting on the floor with his knees drawn up to his chest. The man sighed and sat on the floor next to him. The Englishman usually disliked such things, but it did not truly surprise Tony. He knew very well by then that Jarvis was the only one willing to go out of his way to make him feel better. He supposed that was what love was like.

“What happened?”

Tony bit back a sigh. There was no way he was going to complain.

“Nothing.”

Jarvis offered no answer and, finally, silence infuriated Tony enough to break it.

“It’s the same as always, Jarvis. Those wankers just won’t leave me alone.”

“Tony! Where on earth have you learnt that word?”

Tony smiled sheepishly.

“I heard it to Aunt Peggy the other day.”

Jarvis frowned, but went back to the most important topic.

“Tony, you must say something. To a teacher, the head-teacher, anyone.”

The ten-year-old shook his head vigorously.

“No, I can’t do that. I’ll stand it, Jarvis. I know I can.”

Such was the earnestness present in Tony’s eyes that Jarvis felt how his heart broke once more for his dear boy. He, more than anyone, knew of Tony’s need for validation, for approval.

He leaned a bit to his side and put his arm around Tony’s shoulders without a second thought. Immediately, Tony leaned against him as well.

“I know it, too. But you shouldn’t have to, young sir.”


	3. Little Ones (part 1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let the action begin!

‘Damn it, Tony,’ thought Steve while he went down to Bruce’s laboratory. JARVIS had already told him that the genius’ workshop was empty. The debriefing of their last mission had been over only two hours ago. Enough time for Steve to have a long shower and decide what book to pick up. And enough time for Tony Stark to get caught smuggling stuff out of the agency’s hands, apparently.

A few minutes ago, S.H.I.E.L.D. had informed him that a mysterious object had been missing from the terrorist base, even though those who had been captured assured it had to be there. Steve had answered as vaguely as he had been able to, knowing right away whom to put the blame on, though. Thor was in Asgard and Natasha had gone to backup Clint in his own mission right after the debriefing had finished, leaving only Steve to handle the situation. He would really rather not involve Pepper and Bruce unless it was absolutely necessary.

“What were you thinking, Tony?” he shouted as he soon as he walked in, although the music drowned his voice almost completely.

Tony did not hear him, or at least he gave no indication of having done so. Steve let out an exasperated groan.

“Tony!” he yelled again, impatiently taping the other man on the shoulder.

The genius actually jumped a little. His brown eyes were childishly wide and guilty when they fixed on Steve.

“Hey, Cap,” he greeted easily, even though at the same time his hands were subtly trying to put some object out of Steve’s sight. “What are you doing down here, Spangles?”

The soldier did not let himself be distracted by either the enthusiastic greeting or the annoying nickname. He just shot back a glare that made the billionaire step back and drop pleasantries.

“What do you want, Rogers?” Tony’s voice was hard.

Things were always like that between the two of them. After the battle of New York, all the Avengers had moved in the Stark Tower, now renamed as the Avengers Tower. At first, Tony and Steve had tried to be on civil terms without much success. They had opposite points of view on nearly everything and grated on each other’s nerves far too easily. And when it concerned a mission, the routine of Tony doing whatever he wanted while Steve refused to listen to him always led to an ugly fallout—especially when they returned to the tower. That had been over half a year ago, though. Eventually, they had realised they could not go on like that anymore. Their arguments wore down the team and, above all, put their teammates’ lives in danger. So Captain America tried to take more into account Iron Man’s strategies, whereas Tony made an effort to follow Steve’s lead on the battlefield and remember he was no longer on his own.

Yet, their personalities still clashed sometimes. And then, their temperaments flared up. They snapped as fast as they had done before. The difference was in the following hours, more awkward, when they silently acknowledged their wrongs to themselves.

Still, neither of them thought of feeling bad while they were arguing. And so, Steve matched Tony’s defensiveness straight away.

“I want you to give back what you’ve stolen, Stark.”

“I’ve stolen nothing, Capsicle.”

“Then, what do you have there?”

“S.H.I.E.L.D. hadn’t reclaimed the place when—”

“Bollocks! That belongs to S.H.I.E.L.D., can be dangerous and—”

“Oh, c’mon, Cap!” Tony got really frustrated —even more so because he knew there was no way he could keep the damn thing. “Stop being a goddamn goody two-shoes! What are you, a teammate or a—?”

“And what about you? You’re such a child, Tony!”

While they yelled at each other, Steve attempted to snatch the object, but Tony refused to let it go. So they both found themselves grasping a coarse-grained rock with sparkling green seams. The mineral got slightly hotter, which neither of them could attribute to their contact, especially when its seams grew brighter. They looked each other in the eye for a moment, dumbfounded, and then, all went black.

* * *

“Oh, my God! What are we going to do now?”

It was a female voice and it sounded terribly worried. Steve winced when he tried to open his eyes. There was too much light and his head hurt. But he was on a comfortable surface, possibly a bed.

“We... We need to calm down, Pepper. They... They look fine. Apart from that, of course.”

It was a male voice that time. The woman, Pepper, answered immediately.

“I know nervousness won’t solve anything, Bruce.” She sounded very sharp. “But they’re not fine. They’re... They are...”

Suddenly, it occurred to Steve that the woman may have been talking about him. He tried opening his eyes again —on that occasion, with more success. He could not suppress a groan, though. A surprised gasp was heard next and a red-haired woman appeared before his eyes.

“Steve? Are you okay?”

His head hurt so badly that he only managed a weak, “Ma’am?”

The woman and the man shared a concerned look.

“Do you remember me, Steve? Do you remember Bruce?”

He focused on their faces for a moment before closing his eyes. Just a moment, he told himself, just for a second in order to give some rest to his eyelids.

“I’m sorry, ma’am. I don’t know who either of you are.”

The silence may have stretched more at this point, but another moan broke it. Pepper turned around right away and said in an anxious voice, “Tony? Are you okay? Do you know who I am?”

In the end, Steve’s curiosity was stronger than his pain and he opened his eyes again. He focused on his surroundings, which were clearer than before, and finally realised that he was on the extreme of a couch. On the other, there was another boy. He had just woken up and he also looked like he was in pain. He wore an extremely big t-shirt and that made Steve notice he was wearing an equally huge one. It was big on the other boy, but Steve could practically swim in his. The boy looked a couple of years younger than Steve, but then again, Steve looked younger than his ten years old, too. Nevertheless, his eyes showed a deep mistrust when he answered to Pepper.

“I don’t know who you are and I don’t really care, but—”

The boy trailed off when a gesture of pain crossed his face. Steve was not in his best shape, either, but he could not let that kind of behaviour pass.

“That’s no way of talking to a dame,” he reprimanded with a frown on his face.

The other kid fixed his gaze on him and opened his mouth to reply, but Pepper cut them off.

“No, enough. You’re not going to start a fight without even remembering each other.”

Her words were stern and prevented the children from making any further comments. Yet, the brown-haired boy looked down in obvious displeasure. The tension in the room was palpable. Steve decided it was still safe enough to ask questions, though.

“Ma’am, may I ask how you know me? And where are we?”

The woman sighed, but her voice was softer when she replied.

“You can call me Pepper, Steve. And it’s a long story. To make it short, Bruce and I know both of you. And you’re safe here, we’re friends.”

Tony snorted at that.

“Yeah, sure. I don’t care if you work for my dad or something, but where’s Jarvis? And why have you brought me here?”

Pepper turned to Bruce. It looked like she was searching for help, but she found little in the fidgeting man. That time, she bit back another sigh.

“I promise I... we,” she shot Bruce a look full of meaning, “will explain everything to you. But I think it’ll be better if we get you checked up and dressed first, okay?” Pepper said with an encouraging smile.

“I’m perfectly fine,” Tony retorted petulantly.

Steve did not agree on the tone, but he did on the words. He did not feel like going over a medical examination at the moment, so he nodded along with Tony. However, Pepper looked neither discouraged nor frustrated. She got on her knees and tried again in a very sweet tone.

“Please? And we can eat something later while we talk.”

At last, both children complied. The adults seemed extremely worried about Tony having some heart condition, in spite of the child insisting that he was healthy enough. Steve’s case was the opposite. They looked surprised when the child gave them his embarrassingly long list of illnesses. However, they reassured him over and over again that he would be completely all right. He did not know yet what to make of them, but they seemed nice people.

Tony was rather grumpy. He obeyed Pepper’s and Bruce’s orders reluctantly and, sometimes, he was not very polite, in Steve’s opinion. But the adults said nothing and did not look angry, so Steve thought it was better not to intrude.

As Pepper had promised, after the medical tests, they were given some clothes more appropriate to their size. She said a friend of hers had bought even more and they were currently being put in two rooms. Once they were comfortably dressed, she led them to a strange kitchen. Bruce had stayed in his laboratory —that was the place where they had woken. She asked them to sit down. Tony looked about to protest, but then said nothing. In fact, he had been quiet for quite some time.

“Do you like juice?” the redhead asked.

“Whatever,” Tony muttered.

Steve hesitated for a second.

“That would be swell.”

Immediately, Tony looked at him as if he had grown two heads.

“Swell?” he repeated, incredulous. “Do you live with your grandpa or something?”

“I live with my mom,” replied Steve, equally puzzled. “Why are you asking?”

“Nobody says ‘swell.’ ”

“They do.”

“Don’t.”

“D—”

“Guys,” interrupted Pepper. “What have I said?”

Neither of them looked especially abashed that time, but the blond boy whispered a quick ‘sorry’ anyway. Tony went back to trying to get information out of Pepper.

“So, what happened? Are you finally gonna tell us?”

His expression was defiant and, at last, Steve understood why Bucky found his rebelliousness so amusing. To think of such a small child fighting was, indeed, funny.

“Yes, Tony. But don’t you guys want something to eat first?”

Heck if Pepper was not the most patient woman that Steve had ever met. His own mother would have punished him for talking like that to such a nice person. Once again, however, Pepper did not look very upset or even surprised.

“I don’t want to be any trouble, ma’am... Miss Pepper. I’m fine,” Steve muttered.

“Well, I’m still guessing you’re one of my dad’s employees, so I do wanna be trouble. I want blueberry pancakes, with chocolate! And a huge chocolate cak—“

“Dinner’s in two hours,” cut off Pepper with an even voice, “so I’m going to take out some chocolate chip cookies and, if you guys are too hungry to wait until dinner, I can make you some sandwiches. And neither of you are any trouble,” she added, kindly.


	4. Little Ones (part 2)

The kids took their orange juices in silence. Tony looked at a loss for words when confronted with gentleness and Steve was too baffled looking at the two packets of cookies to talk.

They inspired great tenderness in Pepper, who had already begun to relax enough to appreciate the little details that belonged in a buried past —like Steve’s physical fragility or Tony asking right away for Jarvis, his former butler, when most kids usually asked for their parents first. It seemed unbelievable that Bruce had gone down to his laboratory and found two little kids unconscious on the floor only a few hours ago. It seemed much longer.

Truthfully, she had barely needed time to wrap her head around the new situation. Still, that did not stop her from freaking out the entire time. She had known the little children were Tony and Steve straight away. Well, she had known the brown-haired one was Tony and guessed the blond was Steve. JARVIS had confirmed her hypothesis. She and Bruce had had little time to improvise a plan. The first thing they did was to move the children to the couch. Then, she called Happy when Bruce commented that their clothes were too big. When she looked back, she realised how fortunate was that she had suggested to mute JARVIS, so the AI only communicated with them by text in order not to frighten the children if they woke up confused or having forgotten their present lives.

From then on, she had been too busy freaking out without the kids noticing to really see them. She had also been thinking about what she could tell them. She thought she had finally come up with something acceptable. She took a deep breath before starting.

“I’m afraid I don’t work for your dad, Tony.” That was quite ironic, but she managed not to smile. “You two are... well, in the future.”

“What?!” the boy cried. Steve had the same incredulous look.

“It’s 2013. But don’t freak out, please. We’ll find a way to... get you back to your respective times. Everything will be fine.”

Steve’s half-eaten cookie had been abandoned on the table. Tony just blurted out, “I don’t believe you.”

Pepper had already expected that reaction from one of them, so she simply replied, “You can look out the window if you want to.”

Both children went to one of the enormous glass panels and looked out. The blond boy stood at some distance from the windows, gaping. For a moment, Pepper was afraid that he would suffer a heart attack. On the other hand, Tony kept moving closer after having stopped next to Steve for a second. Then, he put both of his hands on the glass and leant forward, as if he needed to move as close as possible to assure himself it was no dream.

* * *

There was still one hour left until dinner and Pepper had gone down to the laboratory to talk to Bruce. Tony was staring at the television, although he had lost interest in it a while ago. Steve, too, was drawing absently. He had grown sad since they had got their answers.

Tony did not believe the excuse Pepper had given for knowing them —that she had read their names and seen their faces a while ago in a file belonging to the company she worked for. It was such a flimsy excuse that he did not believe it for a second. He had tried to protest, but Pepper had been final in that matter. According to her, they only needed to know three things for now: they were safe —the woman seemed not to tire of repeating that—, she and Bruce would take care of them and the adults would find a solution. Despite not liking the other kid very much, Tony had attempted to win Steve’s support to keep pressing for real answers, only to see that the blond boy seemed very upset about something he would not reveal. Tony might have insisted, but it was painfully clear that they were, indeed, in the future and he supposed there was no use in pestering Pepper any further. Thus, he had accepted defeat and gone to check how the television of the future was. Pepper had been making phone calls in the next room, but came back to check on them every few minutes.

The red-haired woman had been able to shut up Tony and keep him more or less still, however begrudgingly it may have been. It was a thing many of his nannies could have killed for. He supposed Pepper reminded him of Jarvis in a way. The butler also treated Tony with rare kindness and was loving but firm. In addition, she had stated that he was no trouble, even though it was a big lie that she had no reason to tell. And she was really checking on them even if she appeared to be an important businesswoman that was often required to attend phone calls as well. It was too much to take at once.

When he had woken, hurt and cold and very confused, he had only thought of getting Jarvis. It was common that his parents were absent with no previous warning —after all, they were busy people—, but Jarvis would never leave him without telling him first. And, although he still missed the old man badly, those people, Bruce and Pepper, had an oddly calming effect on him. That was definitely new.

Regarding Steve, he did not look like a bad kid, maybe just a bit of a goody two-shoes, with his flawless manners and quiet demeanour —the sort of child that people found _really_ adorable. At the moment, he looked quite sad, though, and Tony was very bored. And so, he got off the couch and came closer to where the blond was drawing. Once there, he could not resist taking a peek at the picture. It depicted a blonde woman with a kid, standing next to a block of buildings. He could barely appreciate much more, because Steve noticed his presence and, quickly, hid the drawing. Tony received an annoyed stare that made him blurt out a chuckle.

“Uh, hey, sorry,” he said, feeling somewhat nervous. He hoped he was hiding it well. “I was wondering if you’d wanna play or something.”

Steve seemed caught by surprise, but it disappeared as fast as his annoyance. In their place, there was a radiant smile.

“Sure,” he agreed.

Tony smiled brightly, too, and Steve got on his feet. They both looked around.

“What can we do?”

“Maybe they have some video console around here. They do have some awesome technology.”

“What’s a video console?”

Tony gave him another perplexed look.

“Where are you from again?”

“Uh, Brooklyn. Why does it matter?”

Tony made a frustrated sound, which did not help to enlighten Steve in the least.

“No, what I mean is... When are you from? Like, what year was it?”

“Oh!” he exclaimed, finally understanding. “1928.” The other child let out a quiet whistle at that. “What about you?”

“1980.”

“Woah,” Steve said, equally soft. “Still, what’s a video console?”

“It’s a device to play games on a screen,” Tony replied promptly.

They were silent for a moment, taking in the new information.

“It really seems like a pretty swell thing,” said Steve at last. “But I think I’d rather not stay in front of the television all the time. Maybe Miss Pepper will let us go out?”

Tony frowned.

“I don’t think so, but we could explore the house. I want to see more cool tech.”

Steve hesitated.

“I’m not sure Miss Pepper will be happy with us wandering around her house.”

“Oh, come on, Steve. This place is huge! Don’t you wanna see the future?”

His exaggerated grin made Steve laugh and he finally agreed.

All right, Pepper had not exactly been pleased when she found them an hour and a half later in the gym. In their defence, the gym had so many new things to offer that they had lost track of time. Steve had insisted on trying to move an enormous punching bag, whereas Tony had discovered what looked like a control panel on a wall. Pushing buttons, he opened a door which led to a simulation room. It was even better than being in a video game! Tony took one of the pistols and attempted to hit all the targets. Steve joined him shortly before Pepper found them.

She had led them once more to the kitchen, where she announced that they would be eating Chinese food.

“And the doctor?” Steve asked politely.

“Doctor Banner is... uh... too busy right now. But I’m sure he’ll eat with us tomorrow,” she replied, giving them one of her honest smiles.

She started taking food out of the containers and Tony ran to see what options they had. Nevertheless, Steve stood in the middle of the room, gaping at the table.

“What’s the matter with you, Brooklyn boy?” Tony said, giving him a funny look.

“There’s a lot of food,” he stated simply.

“And?” the other kid insisted before Pepper could cut in.

“It’s okay, Steve. We’ll store away what’s left for Bruce.”

When the blond boy still looked hesitant to join them at the table, she decided to put the poor kid out of his misery. She came closer and guided him gently to the table. As Steve was about to take a seat, she whispered in his ear reassuringly, “Times have changed, sweetie.”

After that little accident, dinner went fine. Once they finished eating, Pepper showed them their new rooms, just a floor below her own and next to each other. They went to settle Steve in his room first. The boy looked a little embarrassed —not very surprised, though— when Pepper insisted on pulling the duvet back and giving him a goodnight kiss before leaving. That set a precedent that put Tony on edge, for only Jarvis ever did that for him —maybe once or twice Ana, his wife, or Aunt Peggy had joined, too, but Jarvis was always there. Insecure about whether she would act towards him as she had towards Steve, the child decided not to give her a chance when they reached his room.

“In that closet you’ll find your new clothes,” Pepper was explaining when Tony turned around and got in bed.

“I’m okay, you can leave now,” he snapped, using that impertinent tone that caused so much annoyance. “I don’t need you to tuck me in.”

Yet, she just chuckled, neither annoyed not shocked.

“I don’t think Steve’s let me tuck him in, either. You boys are really grown up, aren’t you?” For some unknown reason, Tony blushed at that. “Can I give you a goodnight kiss, at least?”

The boy said nothing. He was staring down at his lap and so, he missed the soft sad smile that crossed Pepper’s face at his silence. He did feel her fingers brushing his hair off his face and the light kiss on his forehead.

“Goodnight, Tony. Remember, if you need anything, just come and get me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If I were to rewrite this story, I'd probably work more on the excuse for the de-aging and add more angst in the following chapters regarding Tony's daddy issues. Well, that's the thing about old works, I guess, you notice lots of things you could've done better.  
> I hope you still like it, though. Thanks to everyone who's left kudos or comments, by the way. I'm very happy to know you're enjoying this story.


	5. Little Ones (part 3)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tony & labs. Enjoy!

The next morning, Tony woke up quite distressed. He knew he had had a nightmare, although he could not remember it clearly. He only knew there was a lot of freezing water and darkness. He refused to even try going back to sleep. Instead, he got off the bed and went out of the room. His bare feet made no sound while he walked along the corridors.

As it always happened when he woke up from a nightmare, he missed Jarvis. The Englishman did not always stay the night at the Stark mansion, but there had been occasions when he had, so he had been there for Tony when nightmares shook the child awake. He knew how to make it all better. Yet, that time, his butler —his _friend_ — was not around and there was no use in whining. Stark men were strong, Stark men were...

He had been going down floors, because he had not wanted to risk waking up Pepper or Steve. On the floor where he currently was, there was a faint light coming from behind a door and a soft noise of glass clashing together from time to time. Tony recognised the place as the corridor where they had been earlier that day. The noises came from the laboratory where Steve and he had woken up. He stopped, hesitating whether to enter or not, but finally boredom won and he approached the door.

He pushed it slightly open and perked inside. Indeed, there was the doctor. He was hunched over his workbench, oblivious to Tony’s presence. The brown-haired child was not used to hesitating so often, but the doctor looked like a rather serious man and his own father never let him in his workshop. Would that man kick him out? Would he tell Pepper? She would get angry, but why did that really matter? Everything was already so weird that it could hardly get worse.

“Hey,” he called out.

The man —Bruce, his name was Bruce, Tony remembered— jumped at his voice. He even had to take a couple of deep breaths, as to calm himself, before turning around.

“Tony,” he said, finally looking at him. “I didn’t hear you coming. What are you doing awake? It’s very late...” The doctor looked down at his watch. “Or early.”

“I just woke up,” the boy shrugged.

“And you decided to go on a tour around the tower by yourself.”

As a reply, he only grinned, half-sheepishly. Bruce sighed and rubbed his hands over his face.

“I think you should go back upstairs, Tony. There are too many dangerous things here.”

As he looked up, he must have seen the dejected expression on the child’s face, because he let out another loud sigh.

“All right. You can stay here until it’s time for breakfast, okay?”

Tony beamed at that and the man could not help a smile in return. The boy realised that he was being surprisingly open with his emotions around the grown-ups, but he could not help it. Besides, they already paid so much attention to him and Steve that the smallest flicker on their faces would draw their attention.

True to his word, Bruce let him stay in his laboratory. He also let him sit next to him on the workbench. From the stool, the kid could see almost the whole room. And while the doctor was waiting for some data, he even talked to him about a new project he was working on with his partner —who was not currently at the tower— in order to figure out a cheaper way to make drinkable water.

Suddenly, the door opened and Pepper went in.

“Tony!” she exclaimed, despite not sounding especially worried. “If Bruce hadn’t sent me a text, I’d have been worried sick about you!”

“I was just bored. And Bruce’s lab’s cool.”

Fondness washed over Pepper’s face.

“Let’s go and have breakfast, okay? All of us, Bruce,” she remarked with a glare that made Tony snicker.

When they were in the lift, Pepper crouched down and put one hand on Tony’s shoulder.

“I just don’t like the idea of you wandering alone in such a big place, Tony. Why couldn’t you sleep?”

Tony’s cheeks blushed an adorable shade of red. He refused to answer for lack of a non-embarrassing response, wishing the ride would finish soon.

* * *

Pepper did not take too long to come back to the kitchen. She started to make juice with real oranges, instead of getting it from a rectangular box like the previous night. There were plenty of strange things in that place, but Steve thought it would be really rude to question everything. That was why that morning he was making an effort to conceal his shock better.

The doctor came with Pepper and Tony and began to make pancakes. He actually made a lot of them, in Steve’s opinion. An excited Tony insisted on pouring over them just about any sort of topping, while Steve got used to the idea that, apparently, having enough food was not a problem anymore.

After breakfast, Pepper forced Bruce to rest for a while. Steve was grateful to the man for working so hard on getting them back to their times, but the doctor did look dead on his feet. Again, the red-haired woman took up the task of looking after the children. However, before she could decide on something to do that day, she received a phone call she needed to attend and went away promising she would be back in a minute. A minute, and then another, passed without news and Steve could see boredom spreading over Tony’s face. He tried to ignore it —he was content enough with the papers and crayons Pepper had taken out.

“Stevieee...” the other boy whined.

Steve definitely hated the nicknames Tony came up with.

“What do you want now?” he inquired without looking up from his new drawing.

“I’m bored. Let’s go exploring some more!”

“No, Pepper already got mad the other time. Besides, she said she’d be back in no time.”

Tony got on his feet anyway and looked down on him with disdain.

“You’re more boring than the grown-ups. I’m out,” he announced, effectively going out of the room.

Steve was about to call after him, but the arrogance in Tony’s voice had struck a nerve and he said to himself that he did not care at all.

* * *

Bruce’s laboratory was empty and so, that time Tony had no doubts before barging in and exploring it through and through. It was very different from his father’s workshop —there were test tubes and strange substances in sealed bottles everywhere. There were also a lot of papers full of formulas, but without knowing what they served for, Tony quickly lost interest in them.

And then, on a table emptier than the rest, there was what looked like a metal gauntlet of a vivid red colour. It was more the sort of thing that his father would deal with, different from what the doctor seemed to manage down there. Tony got excited at once and, getting on a stool, he reached for the gauntlet and the screwdriver next to it, in case he needed to pry the thing open. Getting back down on the floor, he tried putting on the gauntlet before starting to play around with it.

“So cool,” Tony whispered to himself.

The gauntlet was heavy and big on his tiny arm, but the metal fingers flexed smoothly. It was just amazing and the child wondered whether it was a project of Bruce or his partner’s. He tried to use the screwdriver to fit the invention around his arm a little better at the same time that he stretched his fingers. Suddenly, the metal palm grew slightly hotter and fired itself. The force made Tony’s arm go back too fast and he could not help a yell of pain. Then, he looked up and saw the enormous hole in the wall. A table that had been in the way had ended destroyed as well; glass and chemicals were scattered everywhere. His eyes went wide and swelled up with tears. He had messed up beyond repair.

He stayed like that for what seemed like hours, until a cry echoed in the whole laboratory and startled him out of his shock.

“Tony!”

Pepper stormed in and scanned the room with a quick glance, before spotting Tony and making her way to him. Relief washed over her face for a moment, but the panic still remained. The child cowered down, but the woman did not seem to realise in her frenzy state.

“Tony. Oh, my God! You could’ve been seriously hurt! What have you done? Are you hurt?”

She actually relaxed ever so slightly after yelling and the last question was asked in a softer tone, all worry and fright. When Tony neither answered nor looked up, she bent down swiftly.

“Oh, Tony. Honey, look at me, please.” She put both of her hands on his arms and he flinched. “I’m sorry for yelling. You just... I was terrified. Are you in pain? Are you hurt?”

At last, Tony shook his head, but he kept refusing to look up. After a minute, when he finally seemed to accept defeat and gather her courage to face her, she thought she understood the reason for his refusal. There were tear tracks on his cheeks that he could not have wiped away because Pepper still held his arms and, even if he was not crying at present, his eyes were still wet. He looked like he was going to say something, mutter an apology or an explanation, but nothing came out of his mouth in the end. She just exhaled a soft sight, trying not to sound accusatory when she inquired, “What happened?”

There was no answer. He simply showed her the Iron Man gauntlet, which was still on his arm. Her lips tightened.

“Where have you taken that from?”

“It was on there.” He pointed at the table with his head.

His voice was small, but a dreadful realisation was dawning on Pepper: the child had just fired a mortal gun without any sort of control. The possible consequences snatched away the reassurance that, in the end, said child was actually fine.

“Tony,” she said firmly, although that time she remembered to keep an even voice, “do you have any idea of what could’ve happened? You could’ve killed yourself.” And for some reason, the fact that Pepper did not yell that last sentence made it more frightening. “The lab’s a very dangerous place. It’s not for children. And anyway... You can’t keep running around the place without any warning, Tony.”

“Sorry,” he muttered.

“I’m serious, Tony. I’m really upset right now. You’re not to keep wandering without permission and you’re not to touch things that aren’t yours.”

“Yeah, ‘course.”

Pepper clenched her jaw at the short answer, but chose to say nothing. Instead, she took the gauntlet off his arm —his little, fragile arm, thought Pepper— and led him by the hand to the living room in the upper floors. There was no doubt that she was furious, but she managed to shock him a little by taking his hand gently rather than angrily. She had also dried his eyes without making any comment about his tears, which he was obviously expecting. He was quieter, but whether because of his scare with the gauntlet or because he was unsure of what to make of Pepper’s behaviour, she did not know.

Steve was waiting for them in the living room. For such a skinny kid, he surely had a devastating disappointed look. He and Tony had been getting along more or less, but at that point the tiny genius decided that he hated Steve. After all, he was giving him the same look everyone else did when Tony failed to meet their expectations. The brown-haired boy might not have been good enough, but definitely Steve was not special.


	6. Little Ones (part 4)

Pepper had just entered the room and asked where Tony was when her mobile telephone had beeped. Whatever she read on the screen, it sent her running out. She had come back a long while later accompanied by Tony. Judging by their looks, Steve knew Pepper was upset, probably because of something the brown-haired boy had done. The blond did not bother to hide his disapproval. It was very rude to keep upsetting Pepper all the time and, besides, the look that he received in return did not lack dislike, either.

The atmosphere became quite tense. It was obvious that Pepper did not want to leave either of the children out of her sight. Steve tried to pass the time by focusing on finishing his drawing. The redhead put on a movie for them and Tony made his point by sitting on the furthest corner from the other two. Steve did not really mind, he just thought Tony was behaving like a brat.

Halfway through the film, the boy started to complain, saying he was bored, and a genius, and he needed brain stimulation or something like that. After apparently giving it some thought, Pepper reminded him that she was still mad, so he was not allowed electronic devices for the day. She remarked she could get him board games or some books instead, but that only soured Tony’s mood further. Nevertheless, it was when Pepper suggested that he could also play with Steve that all hell broke loose.

“I won’t go anywhere near that wanker!” was his reaction.

Steve did not know very well what that word meant, but he was pretty sure it was an insult.

“Hey!” He got up, forgetting the drawing for a second. “Say that again to my face if you dare.”

“I do dare,” the other boy answered right away, while Pepper also got up and came between the two of them. “Who’d be afraid of a skinny baby such as yourself, anyway?”

“How tall exactly do you think you are?”

“Tony, Steve, stop now,” Pepper said in her business voice, muttering under her breath a moment later, “I swear to God I need more babysitters on this team.”

“I’m not a baby!” Tony yelled, letting out his frustration in a high-pitched cry.

Steve had had enough of that sort of attitude. And so, he did the only thing he could think of at the moment. He shoved Tony. The brown-haired child was taken by surprise and fell down on the floor with a soft thud. Steve heard Pepper cry his name, but he was in shock, watching the kid get up. As Tony looked at him full of hatred, Steve realised he had started a fight and felt an awful lot like a bully. He already had an apology ready on his lips, but then brown eyes caught something behind him and Tony did not hesitate before darting for it. The Brooklyn boy understood a second too late what was going on. When he did, Tony had torn his drawing up and crumpled the parts in his tiny fists.

“Captain America, huh? You are _nothing_ like Captain America!”

* * *

Tears had appeared in Steve’s eyes, but before anything else happened, Pepper had finally put her foot down and sent Tony to his room. Afterwards, she had tried to comfort Steve, but the kid had not even let any tears fall. After picking up his torn picture, he had asked to be excused and had retreated to his room as well. Pepper, a little overwhelmed by the situation and not knowing what else to do, had let him go. She had even tried to ask what he had been drawing, despite already knowing, but Steve had been short in his answer, saying it was just a silly image he had dreamt of the previous night.

A couple of hours later, Bruce woke up. Pepper met him in his laboratory and explained to him what had happened that afternoon.

“They’ve got very different personalities,” the scientist shrugged off when she finished.

“Yes, but I wish they didn’t clash so hard. They’re both good kids,” she retorted, a bit of longing seeping in her voice. Then, after a moment of thought, she asked, “How’s your research going?”

“I can’t guarantee anything, but I still believe it’s possible the stone’s effects will disappear eventually on its own.”

“That’s not bad, is it?”

Bruce’s tentative nod was punctuated by a nervous shrug.

“There are no side effects besides the obvious as far as I can tell, but I’m not sure they’ll let us have absolute control over the situation much longer. Has S.H.I.E.L.D. contacted you again?”

“Not since yesterday,” she answered. She shared his concerns regarding the agency. “They insisted on bringing the children and the stone to their building, but I refused by saying... well, that you were certain you were about to figure out a way to get the effects reversed. It seemed like it bought us a little longer.”

Bruce could tell that Pepper was uncomfortable for including him in her lie, but he was not upset. The ginger was enduring a high amount of stress while handling the situation well enough. Neither of them would let S.H.I.E.L.D. take Tony and Steve and he needed the stone to keep working on a cure, so Pepper’s lie was a lesser evil. He gave her a small smile, which she returned tiredly.

“I’m going to kill Tony when he’s back to normal,” she joked.

“Yeah, the kid’s too cute. It’d be a pity to do him in now.”

Their smiles grew slightly bigger and Pepper relaxed a bit more.

“I’m going to make an early dinner. Hopefully, tomorrow will be better.”

* * *

The next day started more organised, at least. Dinner had been a tense affair the previous night. Tony was sulking all night, but rather than make snarky comments, he did not talk at all. Steve only offered polite but disinterested answers when he was asked. And the kids barely looked at each other. Only the chat between Pepper and Bruce made dinner bearable, but the woman knew she needed a plan for the following day. After all, she had not been Tony Stark’s personal assistant for years to let a couple of children defeat her. And so, there she was in the morning, informing the little ones that, once they had finished their breakfast, they would all go to the park and stay there for lunch. It was a rather risky plan that could very well lead to an unpleasant day, but Pepper trusted them not to hold grudges for a very long time at such a short age.

Steve had been excited to hear it. He was clearly used to spending most of his time outdoors and longed for that. Tony, on the other hand, had stated it would be stupid as well as a waste of his time. He was ten years old, though, and Pepper had years of experience dealing with his adult counterpart. In the end, the three of them walked to the nearest park.

The awe had been written on the young faces when they saw the ‘future.’ Tony’s hand gripped Pepper’s tighter when he saw an especially outstanding car. It had been amusing to see how both kids had refused to be led by the hand on the street and their outrageous looks at each other when they realised they had just agreed on something. Nevertheless, Pepper had convinced Steve quickly just by saying he would not go to the park otherwise. And when she had held Tony’s hand and whispered a complicit ‘come on,’ the child had not shaken it off.

Once in the park, Steve had needed no time to try climbing a tree and, when Pepper had ordered him to get down, he had gone to feed the ducks on the pond and, after that, he started to draw them. He seemed livelier than ever. Tony stayed with her on the bench, kicking his legs back and forth, as if unsure of what he should do outdoors.

“I’m sure he’d forgive you if you apologised,” she whispered to him on an impulse.

The boy did not look up.

“I’m not sorry.”

“You sure?”

That time, he did stare at her, defiantly.

“Yeah. It wasn’t even the real shield, just a drawing. I’ve seen the real one on videos and it was much more amazing than his drawing.”

“Still, it was Steve’s drawing, and he’d put a lot of effort into it. How would you feel if someone broke a robot of yours?”

Tony looked surprised that she knew what he built —or rather attempted to—, but hid his shock quickly. Instead, his expression grew a little darker as he mumbled, “If they aren’t good, they have no value.”

“Tony, that’s not true,” she said vehemently, suddenly holding both of his hands to better convey her point. “Your effort and illusion alone make them special.”

Tears welled up in his eyes and he tried to remove his hands from Pepper’s grasp to dry them. She did not let him, though, instead coming closer and enveloping him in a hug. Without a second thought, Tony grabbed two fists full of her shirt and began to cry. The redhead whispered reassurances, tracing circles on his back while looking in Steve’s direction. Fortunately, the blond kid was completely absorbed in his new picture.

When finally Tony managed to calm down and stop crying, he looked up at her with the most miserable brown eyes ever.

“I’m... I’m sorry,” he whispered, with the slightest hint of desperation lacing his wet eyes —his embarrassment at such a display of vulnerability was more evident.

“It’s okay,” she reassured him, smiling mostly for his sake.

“It’s just... I was so mad when he shoved me. What I did... He’s not gonna forgive me.” He said the last sentence full of quiet conviction.

“Of course he will. He may be upset at first, but when he sees you regret it sincerely, he’ll accept your apology. I’m sure he feels awful for shoving you, too. You guys have to treat each other better,” she added.

“I will, I promise,” came his prompt reply. Then, he looked her in the eye and said quietly, “Thank you, Pepper.”

The red-haired woman smiled more brightly that time and gave him another hug.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, things have to get worse before they can start getting better, right?  
> Thanks for all the kudos, bookmarks and subscriptions, guys, they are very much appreciated! I'd also love to know what you think so far.


	7. Little Ones (part 5)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was originally divided into two on FF, but while rereading it, I thought it may work better as one. Unfortunately, that also means this is the last proper chapter and the story has mostly come to an end —next and last update will be a short Pepperony epilogue.  
> I hope you enjoy and share your thoughts in the comments. Once again, thank you for all the kudos and bookmarks!

Tony walked up to Steve feeling very nervous despite Pepper’s reassurance. What if the other boy did not forgive him after all? What if he did not want to play with him anymore? He did look content enough drawing. It was clear that the blond loved drawing as much as Tony loved building things. He had thought he hated Steve, but at the moment, Tony realised he was scared stiff that he had ruined his friendship with him even before it started.

“Hey.”

Steve looked up at him a bit suspiciously, but said hello back.

“I... uh... I wanted to apologise. You know, for your drawing. I’m really sorry.”

To Tony’s ears, it sounded rather lame, partly because he had talked too fast. Steve just kept watching him for a little while without changing his expression. Then, he softened and replied, “Okay. I’m sorry, too, for shoving you.”

Tony felt like letting all the air escape his lungs, but he shrugged instead.

“It’s okay. I only fell because you caught me by surprise.” When Steve smirked, he insisted, “It’s true! Well, never mind. Do you... uh... wanna play? Pepper also brought a ball.”

Although he would probably never admit it, Tony felt very relieved when Steve quickly agreed and gave him one of his radiant smiles. He closed the notebook where he had been drawing before and both of them went to get the ball.

They had spent some time kicking it to each other when Pepper closer to announce that they needed to get lunch. However, the kids were having a great time and managed to convince her to go and get food for all of them.

“Okay, but I can still see you from the food stand. So, behave yourselves,” she warned as they nodded, the very picture of innocence.

A few minutes later, Steve kicked the ball especially hard. He whooped while Tony ran to pick it up chuckling. The ball rolled until it stopped inside a group of teenagers. At first, Tony hesitated, remembering those bigger boys at his school. Then, he swallowed, not wanting to look like a coward in front of Steve, and went to ask for the ball as steadily as he was able to. Yet, the words died in his throat when one of them picked it up and smiled at him. It was neither a pretty smile nor an honest one.

“Hey, kid. Is it yours?”

Tony nodded weakly and stretched his arms out for it.

“Yes. Give it back to me.”

“Whoa. So rude, kid. Didn’t your parents teach you manners?”

“It’s not very polite to refuse giving back what isn’t yours, either.” As usual, despite his fear, the words were out before Tony could really think about what he was saying.

“Give it back to us now, please.”

Steve had come to join him. There was coldness in his usual polite tone.

“Kids nowadays need a lesson,” said another member of the group, getting up.

Tony recoiled at those words instinctively. Yet, when he saw the teenager heading towards Steve, he stepped up without another thought. His push hardly threw the older boy out of balance, but it was enough to make him angry and keep his focus off the blond kid. A hand reached for the collar of his t-shirt and pushed him against a tree, holding him there.

Tony was paralysed. He knew he should be stronger — _Stark men are made of iron_. He also knew a beating would not kill him. And yet, he was truly afraid and breathing was getting harder and harder. Memories, scenes that made no sense at all came up to his mind: freezing water in his lungs, a giant metal robot choking him, bright green and a hand of large fingers around his neck...

Suddenly, the hold disappeared. He fell on his knees coughing and he could feel grass under his palms. In the distance, he heard Pepper’s yell. He opened his eyes in time to see Steve getting backhanded. Then, the teenagers must have heard Pepper coming, because they just ran away.

“My God! I let you alone for five minutes and you got into a fight! Are you okay?”

By then, Tony was beginning to understand that the redhead yelled a lot when she was worried.

“I— I... An idiot...”

He shut up after several unsuccessful tries to explain what had just happened. He went to where Steve was, already getting off the ground.

“Are you okay?” Tony turned to Pepper to clarify his concern. “They hit Steve.”

“Everything’s jake,” the boy replied with a tiny smile. When Tony threw him a confused look, he rephrased his answer, “I’m all right, honestly.”

After ensuring that it was true and neither of them was injured, Pepper took them to eat somewhere else. They were still a little shaken up —she would not stop fussing over them no matter what they said—, but she was glad to see their dynamic had improved dramatically.

That night, Tony sneaked out of his room. He had a question in his head and he would not fall asleep until he had an answer as well. When he got in Steve’s room, everything was dark and deadly silent.

“Steve?” he called out, tentatively.

There was no answer, so we walked up to the bed and nudged the other kid on the shoulder.

“Steve,” he called again.

“Tony?” came the answer in a very sleepy voice.

“Yeah... Can we talk?”

“Now?”

Still, Steve sat on the bed at once and switched on the night-table lamp.

“What’s up?” he asked, patting a spot near him for Tony to sit.

The brown-haired child did so, although he could not help feeling self-conscious.

“What’s wrong, Tony?” There was now plain worry in Steve’s voice.

“Nothing,” he hastened to reassure. “But this afternoon, at the park... I know it’s silly, but I need you to tell me why you did it.”

“Why did I do what?”

“Whatever you did to get that boy off me.”

“Oh,” Steve replied, understanding finally showing on his face. “I just kicked his shin. Really hard,” he added with a proud grin.

Tony composed a small smile, too, for a second. Then, he became serious.

“But why did you do it?”

“Because that nitwit was hurting you.”

Tony’s smile came back for another moment when he did recognise the slang that time. Yet, confusion kept showing on his face, because he was still unable to figure out the real reason. No kid ever came to his rescue and, even then, all help had a price. However, Steve seemed to think that he had done nothing special. The little genius did not know how to explain himself further. Luckily for him, Steve understood without words.

“That’s what buddies are for. Bucky always has my back —we say we’ll be together till the end of the line. And you’re my friend, Tony, so I want to have your back, too.”

Steve finished his speech with a beaming smile. Tony had bright eyes and his confusion has shifted to acquire an adorable edge.

“We’re friends?”

“Yeah. Of course, you dummy. You had my back first, remember? You shoved that bully. You were really brave! Besides, we get along far too well not to be friends.”

Tony smiled at that. Any other reply would have fallen short.

* * *

Neither of the boys had seemed willing to leave the other’s company, so Steve had no doubts before inviting Tony in his bed. He thought it was the logical thing to do. He sometimes slept with his mother or even Bucky in the same bed, since during winter there were many times when body heat was the only thing that kept him from freezing to death. Cuddling for comfort was no different. And yet, Tony had looked at him completely puzzled, as if he had suspected that Steve was trying to play a trick on him. For being a genius, Tony was shocked by the most normal things. Eventually, the kid had managed to shake off his surprise and had accepted his offer.

At present, Steve was regretting having made it at all. Well, for the most part. He had been about to fall asleep when Tony whispered his name again.

“Yes?” he answered, though he could not help thinking, ‘Darn it, Tony’ at the same time. He did not bother hiding the sleep present in his voice.

“I feel funny.”

“Mmm...” When Steve thought about it, he felt something strange, too. Instead of dwelling on it, he just asked back, “Funny how?”

“I... I don’t know. My skin tickles.”

“Are you cold or something?”

“N— No.”

If the shiver was not from cold, then it had to be from fear. Steve reached out a hand and started rubbing Tony’s arm anyway. However, the brown-haired kid kept trembling, more and more violently. Steve finally took pity on him and gave him what the other boy seemed to want but would not ask for: a hug. Immediately, Tony buried his tiny fists and his face on Steve’s pyjamas. It took him a few, long minutes to regain his composure, but even when he did, Steve did not let him go. He could feel that Tony was tense, but also making an effort to relax in their embrace.

“How do you do for people to like you?” Tony asked in a very low voice, barely breaking the silence.

Steve thought back of the bullies in his neighbourhood.

“I don’t think everyone likes me, Tony.”

“Pepper and Bruce do.”

“They like you, too.”

“They are mad at me most of the time.”

“They are worried about you,” Steve retorted with a short chuckle. He paused for a moment, thinking about his next words. “My mom also makes a fuss whenever I get hurt. It’s because she cares about me. Miss Pepper sometimes reminds me of her.”

They said nothing else for a few seconds.

“I’m sorry.” Again, it was Tony who broke the quiet.

“What for?”

“Waking you up.”

That time, there was no fear or shame in his voice, as it had when he had first accepted Steve’s offer. Thus, the blond took it as a little victory and let out another brief chuckle as he shook his head.

“Shut up, Tony,” he said good-naturedly. He thought the other child was smiling. “Are you still feeling funny?” Steve asked.

“Yes.”

“Me too.”

“Really?”

“Yes, but I’m too sleepy to pay it any attention,” Steve said, punctuating his answer with a yawn.

At last, Tony seemed to lose his own battle against sleep as well, because Steve felt him snuggling deeper into the embrace before falling asleep himself.

* * *

The next morning, both of them realised something was wrong —or right once again— before even opening their eyes. They felt warm and safe. And also... big. It was certainly an awkward and uncomfortable moment when they both opened their eyes and found out that, indeed, they had turned back into adults.

They remembered their whole lives, too, including what had happened while they had been de-aged. Now, Tony knew what had caused his nightmares the previous night, as well as the confusing images that had crossed his mind when the teenager had attacked him. Steve realised painfully that he had last seen his mother not a couple of days before, but almost a century ago. Jarvis would never comfort a distressed Tony again. Bucky would no longer tease Steve by calling him ‘punk.’ A suffocating sadness grew heavier and heavier inside them as they remembered another thing: the odd connection they had experienced as children, accompanied by a feeling of protectiveness and safety. Somehow, they had known they belonged there, among strangers who felt like family.

Yet, they were experts at shaking sadness off quickly when they were not alone. They rebuilt their walls up and disentangled their limbs at once. They blushed and tried to laugh the embarrassment off. They did not pretend it had not had happened, though, and neither of them even thought of taking back their words from the previous night.


	8. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a bit of a Pepperony moment.

“Did you miss me?” Tony asked later that night, smirking at Pepper, who was lying next to him on their bed.

His tone was as cocky as ever, but the sweetness he caressed her hair with let her know that he had missed her very, very much.

“Yeah, I did,” she replied quietly, turning to him without opening her eyes to avoid breaking the moment.

She buried her face on his T-shirt and smiled when she felt the Arc reactor there. She let herself enjoy a few heartbeats before finally looking up at him and matching his smirk with one of her own.

“I have to say, though, you were very cute. Your puppy-dog eyes were just unbelievable.”

“Aren’t they now?” he joked, feigning hurt and gazing at her with wide open brown eyes.

“Of course they are,” she reassured him, going in for a kiss.

They kissed for a while longer, enjoying their happiness without hurrying, until they resumed their previous position. It had been an exhausting day and they were both content with just lying in a casual embrace.

“But you were really cute, you know?” The redhead broke the silence again, needing him to know that experience was not something to be embarrassed about. “I mean, I would’ve expected an unrulier kid.”

“Pep, I almost got myself killed toying around with the Iron Man gauntlet. And I tore apart Cap’s drawing. God, I really felt awful about that,” he groaned as he rubbed a hand over his face.

“I know. That’s why I can tell you were an adorable good kid.”

“You were really good to both of us, honey.”

She had already been aware of Tony’s insecurities a long time before he and Steve got turned into children. Yet, for the few days they were kids, his insecurities had been plainly written on his face. Having to hear now those same doubts in his adult voice reminded her of just how long he had been living with them, making the situation all the more painful. Pepper could not help wanting to wipe that self-loathing off straight away, even if she knew the only way was by taking one step at a time.

It seemed like he would never stop breaking her heart and making her smile all at once. Yet, if that was the price for their love, it was definitely worth it. She bit back a sigh, her face suddenly lighting up with a smile because of an image that had just crossed her mind.

“Just thank God the rock didn’t de-age me. Then, you’d really know how much of a handful a rebellious kid can be.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is the end! Thank you very much for your response to this story. I'm glad I decided to post it over here after all these years. I hope you enjoyed reading and, please, don't hesitate to leave a comment.


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